Educational Product Practicum

EDU A096 2 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

The A096 Practicum is offered 2 times during J-Term - once during the week of January 4th and again during the week of January 11th. Each section is a different design challenge. Students may apply to multiple sections, but preference will always be given to new students. 
In each intensive practicum, students will serve as design consultants to a business or nonprofit “client,” gaining hands-on experience developing a design proposal, including working prototypes, for a new product, delivery platform, data infrastructure, or feature for an existing program. The client—an educational content provider, publisher, or funder—will provide background information on the market, educational goals, and operational aspects of an authentic design challenge, including potentially proprietary information. Under the guidance of the instructor, who has over 40 years of experience developing educational products, students will work in small teams to produce research-based proposals, frameworks, and prototypes. Completing robust weekly deliverables, with periodic feedback from the client, will be critical to meet the timing demands of a real world need. Expect rapid iteration on problem definition, underlying research, design constraints, evidence of impact, and targeted “minimum viable products” (MVPs). At the end of the course, students will submit to the client a summary of research on the learning need and promising interventions; construct definitions and maps; analysis of implementation constraints and affordances; a feature-by-feature proposal with supporting research and suggestions for collecting evidence of change; an annotated bibliography and list of potential expert advisors; and/or select MVPs. The client will credit students for any design ideas used in a future product, and students will be free to include their proposals (minus any proprietary information) in their professional portfolios.
Permission of the instructor is required. Course enrollment is limited to 12 students. The design challenges are live issues for the organizations and won't be finalized until weeks before each section begins. Read the section information carefully to be sure you apply and enroll for the desired time and challenge. For current information about the challenge and to apply for enrollment, go to: A096 Sections Overview and Forms.